round

Ten days have passed since we started digging into the Android P developer preview release, and while we've enjoyed many of the new changes and shared with you our five favorites, there are other modifications that left us scratching our heads a little. This is a developer preview, so things are expected to be buggy, some features could be experimental and could change with the next releases, but there are others that might be here to stay.

We've scoured our long, long list of Android P posts looking for those that we either don't like or that many of you voiced disapproval for.

Joaquim Vergès, best known for his work on the Falcon Pro Twitter client, joined Twitter in 2015 to help improve the company's Android app. He left Twitter in March to work for Twitch, and it seems like the company has taken that opportunity to change the app's design again. A new user interface is being tested in the app's alpha testing branch, and everything is round for some reason.

Google is rolling out the red carpet for the upcoming Pixel phones, ensuring that its core lineup of apps are dressed the part. An update to the Play Store began rolling out yesterday with a new round launcher icon for the Pixel Launcher and an app shortcut (formerly known as launcher shortcuts) for Android 7.1. Also joining the list of upcoming features will be support for purchasing 4K movies and TV shows, a marker to indicate if a device is certified, and a new icon for promotions and gifts.

I think everyone knows by now that Motorola had to make a few sacrifices with the Moto 360, one of which I personally still notice every time I wear it - the flat tire look. The small blacked out area on the bottom of the watch contains the ambient sensor and a few other components that didn't fit elsewhere in this design, at least in the amount of time the company had to deliver the first iteration to consumers.

I know some of you will tell me that you stopped noticing it ages ago, and it's not a problem, but to me, it still is - every time I see a watchface that doesn't adjust for the inverted hump, I'm reminded of the shortcoming.

With the obvious exception of watch faces themselves, there aren't many parts of Android Wear that actually benefit from the round screens of the Moto 360 and the upcoming G Watch R - not even Google's official apps. A new and relatively humble tip calculator is the first Wear app I've seen that makes really excellent use of the extra radial space. It's called (appropriately) Wear Tip Calculator.

The app uses a circular design. On the first screen, you drag your finger around the circular controller to select the total cost of your bill. Then you select your tip amount, anywhere from 0% (jerk) up to 50% (save your money, you're not getting her number).

LG says it has been working on the G Watch R for two years. Whether this is true or not, the manufacturer now positions the original G Watch as a "reference device," which makes sense given their partnership with Google on the product and its speedy release after Google I/O. At any rate, the G Watch R is positioned as a product more in keeping with LG's design philosophy and the key elements the company (and more specifically its designers) believe make a good, compelling smart watch.

Unfortunately for our hands-on, we are not able to publish photos of the watch outside of demo mode, but what we can discuss is the hardware.